What is the Connection Between the Udins and the Dadivank of Artsakh? Hranush Kharatyan Elaborates

Hranush Kharatyan wrote on her Facebook page: “What is the connection between the Udins and the Dadivank of Artsakh? The connection is that they are followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church. However, the Udins presented at Dadivank are represented as non-existent followers of the 'Aluanian Church.' In other words, the link with the Armenian Apostolic Church and hence with Dadivank is being severed.

More frequently, the official policy of Azerbaijan is identifying Caucasian Aluank with Azerbaijan. The claims to their 'rights' are being contested by the peoples of the Lezgian language group from Northern Azerbaijan and Southern Dagestan, including Lezgins, Tsakhurs, Rutuls, Avars, and others. However, Azerbaijan's historiography, or what is presented as historiography, does not want to share the rights of historical Aluan with them. From all indications, Azerbaijan is only designating the Udins as descendants of the Aluans, a people who have been systematically and persistently Islamized in the 18th, 19th, and even 20th centuries, who were massacred from 1918 to 1920, persecuted, and subjected to violence from 1988 to 1990, and whose numbers in Azerbaijan currently amount to only about 3000 people. It can be said that these 3000 individuals are held captive, because to defend the mere possibility of their existence, the modern Udins must simply become a political pawn in the hands of the Azerbaijani authorities against Armenia and the Armenians. They must do so, as they have been followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church for 1700 years, had Armenian names and surnames until 1988-1990, were studying in Armenian schools until the 1930s of the 20th century, traveled to Soviet Armenia for education throughout the 20th century, and their historical memory is generally linked to the Armenian cultural community.

On one hand, the Udins are not forgiven for their 'Armenian past'; on the other hand, this past offers a wonderful opportunity and occasion for Azerbaijan to 'Udi-ize, Aluan-ize, and Azerbaijani-ize' authentic Armenian culture.

In reality, the Udi-Aluan cultural past and present has a clear geographical area – the Shaki-Kabala zone of Azerbaijan. This is exactly the area where the Christian culture of the Udis/Uti has taken shape and evolved; it is where, according to 7th-century Udi/Uti tradition, Christianity was spread by Yegishe, considered to be the apostle of Aluan (M. Kaghankatutsi, Story of the Aluan World, critical edition H. Arakelyan, Yerevan, 1983, pp. 10-11), and where until the beginning of the 20th century, there were and partly still are dozens of churches and monasteries bearing the name of Yegishe Apostolic and other sacred places linked to his preaching and martyrdom. (In Nukh and Shaki, the ancient Yegishe Monastery is located, and in Vardashen, there is a large monastery named after Yegishe (Kala Gergets), including a small church in the large cemetery of Vardashen (Kitske Gergets), which is said to have been built in memory of Yegishe's younger brother. Just 3 km from Vardashen, there is a partially destroyed church near the Saint Mary Monastery in the Armenian village of Chaletz, which, according to tradition, was built by the hand of Apostle Yegishe, or as Sargis Jalayan writes, ‘the people of Shaki, Gabala, Arashbasa, and Aghdalu built this seat by the sacred order of Apostle Yegishe.’ The 'Holy Yegishe' monastery in Nij was very famous, believed to be built on the burial site of one of the disciples of Apostle Yegishe).

A Udi priest by descent, Khazar Khahani Hovsepian notes, ‘Although there are various monasteries and shrines in different parts of the Udi country, the most respected and beloved ones are these (that is, those connected with the name of the Apostle Yegishe – H. K.), whose pilgrimage days are celebrated after Easter, during the Old Testament days, when both real Armenian Christians and Armenian Islamized Muslims go on pilgrimage in a crowd from every corner of Udi country.’ (By 'Islamized Armenian,' the author refers to the Udis who have converted from being followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church to Islam).

In another part of his work, he writes, ‘At the monastery of Saint Yegishe Apostle near the Islamized village of Gis (Kish), both the Islamized Armenians of Gis village and the surrounding area relate with great fear and deep respect... On the festive day, they also go on pilgrimage like Christian Armenians (by 'Christian Armenians,' the author means the enlightening/hayadavans Udis) make offerings, and upon entering reverently, they light candles and fervently pray in their hearts. In many places, even Islamized Armenians swear by the name of Saint Yegishe’ (Hovsepian Kh. Comments on Udi and Muslim Armenians, Tiflis, 1904, pp. 43, 72).

The significance of Apostle Yegishe in the lives of Udis/Uti was so great that it even served as evidence of their identity or at least as a guarantee of preserving their ethnicity. In a petition sent to Tsar Peter the Great in 1724, the Udis, protesting against the injustices of the Muslims, present their identity to Peter the Great in the following manner: ‘We are Aluan and of Udi descent. By the preaching of Apostle Yegishe, our ancestors believed in God; the location of the martyrdom of the holy apostle is ours. Your order is known that previously the power of our nation was never enough to build a monastery at the place of the apostles’ martyrdom, only our ancestors were able to build a small church; we were always living life bringing forth newness. Now they have unlawfully burned it down, and we have been denied that.’

As we can see, the entire Christian understanding of the Udis revolves around the name of Yegishe Apostle. This is no coincidence: the story of Apostle Yegishe that emerged in the 7th century was born with the purpose of having their own apostle aside from or even contrary to the apostles of Armenia. In other words, the story about the apostle Yegishe in Aluan stands in contrast to the apostle Thaddeus of Armenia. By choosing Apostle Yegishe in the 7th century, the Aluans were 'saying', yes, dear Armenians, we also belong to the faith of the Armenians, but we have our own apostolic identity and are unrelated to the Armenian apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew. Our apostle is Yegishe, ordained by James the Brother of Christ. This was the myth of Aluan, which gave the Aluans, and later the Udis who remained Christians, their distinct Christian identity.

As is known, one of the apostles of the Armenians was Thaddeus, who is attributed with the founding of the Dadivank. Thus, by rejecting the apostleship of Thaddeus, any connection of Aluan to the Dadivank linked to the name of Thaddeus is denied. Not to mention the historical events.

The Christian distinction based on the name of Apostle Yegishe did not hinder the Udis' dual Armenian religious and Udi ethnic perception. They generally called and continue to call themselves Armenian-Udi. This is exactly how they authenticated themselves not only in written texts but even on gravestones. Here are several examples: 'THIS IS A GRAVESTONE OF ZARAMAEL CYRUS OF THE APOSTLE OF NIJ / POLOS MATTHEOS / WITH THE NAME OF THE BRIGHT UDI PEOPLE. THIS IS A GRAVESTONE OF HAYK LUSAVORCH of the ZERUN, OF THE BOTHER OF ANDRANIK, 1877 MARCH 3 IN COUNCIL TO THE HANGING GRAVESTONE OF LAZAR Vasquez and OF THE LIGHTING SPIRIT OF THE ETERNAL AND REMEMBERING FALLEN.'

However, here in the 21st century, in April 2008, Azerbaijan sent Udi farmer Rafik Darakari from the village of Nij to Jerusalem for pilgrimage and baptism in the Jordan River, thus he becomes a 'Maktas' (Mugdas), returns, and with 'Maktas rights,' as stated by the head of the Azerbaijan Udi community Robert Mobilin, he 'receives a certificate from the Central Christian Churches of Jerusalem' (???) as ordained cleric in the Aluan church of the village of Nij. The statement says that 'from now on, the Aluan church will not be dependent on the churches of other Christian denominations.'

Now, inventing the 'Aluan Church' and through a person of unknown origin, purportedly ordained by an unknown 'Udi cleric' at Dadivank, and through 'Aluan clerics' bringing themselves to the Holy Cross Church of Lake Vank, Azerbaijan is attempting to appropriate Armenian cultural heritage and is using the remnants of the Udi people that have been obliterated by itself, while simultaneously opposing and antagonizing the followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church, thus practically severing their link to the Armenian Apostolic Church, and consequently from Dadivank as well. A regrettable role in this has been taken on by Robert Mobilin, the Udi who has become the mouthpiece of Azerbaijan.

The remaining Udis in Azerbaijan today cannot 'confess' that they are followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church. They must say that they are followers of the 'Azerbaijani Aluan Church.' This is the only possible way for them to remain in their homeland encompassed within the territory of Azerbaijan. Consequently, the Armenian Apostolic Church cannot demand that members of the ‘Aluan Church’ perform religious ceremonies in the Armenian Apostolic Church.